Philadelphia Weekly

Photo by David Shankbone

Bill Maher
Sat., Sept. 27, 8pm.
$20-$75.
Tower Theater,
69th and Ludlow sts.,
Upper Darby.
610.352.3612.
www.livenation.com

Yes, Bill Maher is a smarmy, smarmy prick who smokes too much weed, has access to pussy waaay out of his league and is too quick on the draw of his "Americans are stupid" gun when a can of pepper spray would do the trick. That said, his show Real Time, now in its sixth season, is more biting and essential than ever. Every four years people get really loose with the phrase "most important election of our lifetime!" But now we all agree, OMG it so totally is. And Maher takes to HBO's precious premium airwaves every Friday night calling bullshit on Republican dirty tricks, pulling back the bedsheets on the ugly truth of our increasingly in-the-gutter politics, and chopping down its biggest offenders like so much wheat before his sickle. And, oh yeah, he's funny. For a guy who once did a comedy special titled Be More Cynical, these days Maher is anything but. That makes him vital too. (Brian McManus)

>> Strong like bull

Stupid Fresh!
Sat., Sept. 27, 6-10pm.
Abakus,
227 N. 10th St.
215.351.7978.
eltoro215.blogspot.com

It's not easy to describe El Toro. He's got bull horns, a tiny head and four gigantic teeth. And he's plastered to the back of almost every street sign and PW box in town. In the past few years El Toro has actually developed a bit of a personality (especially for cartoon graffiti). Credit the little guy's evolution to his artist, Frost, who has a solo show with all new works on Sept. 27 at Abakus. (Daniel McQuade)

>>(PRo)bama-rama

Presidential Debates
Fri., Sept. 26, 8pm.
PBS.

The only thing that'll make the foreign policy and national security presidential debate tolerable is alcohol. So when Obama says: "Bush doctrine," "George W. Bush," "Republican" or "More of the same," drink. Do a double if he smiles after he says it. Finish if he gives McCain the bird at the end. Throw one back for the other side when McCain says "friends," "North Vietnamese camp," "I was right about the surge," the word "surge" or "prisoner of war." If he says "war" with any of the following countries--Iran, Russia, China or Spain--finish the bottle and build a bomb shelter. (Alli Katz)

>>Dig it

Dr. Keith Thompson
Thurs., Sept. 25, 6:30pm.
Academy of Natural Sciences,
19th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.
215.299.1000.
www.ansp.org

The fossil record teaches us a lot. Jesus didn't ride dinosaurs. Even John McCain didn't ride dinosaurs. Sloths used to be enormous. Mastodon means "nipple tooth." There's so much more, and Dr. Keith Thomson, former president of the Academy of Natural Sciences, heads to Philly to school us on all things paleontological. In his book The Legacy of the Mastodon: The Golden Age of Fossils in America he claims fossils can explain a lot about the history of the U.S.--westward expansion wasn't all cowboys and homesteaders. Urged by folks like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, scientists went west looking for T. Rexes, mammoths and mastodons and changed the face of science in America. (A.K.)

>>fist pump

Liber-8 Me
Fri., Sept. 26-Sun., Sept. 28, 6:30pm.
Free.
Bambi Gallery,
1817 Frankford Ave.
215.423.2668.
www.bambiproject.com

Did you notice all the fisting this year? The propaganda revolution-ish spray-painted fists nailed to buildings around town? While purchased-but-not-developed buildings appreciate in dollars and cents, not everyone appreciates vacant buildings marring the landscape waiting for a loving homeowner or future slumlord. Fishtown resident and artist Stewart Dean Ebersole got together with friends and started spray painting fists all over these dilapidated buildings. Ebersole has a lot of big ideas: He says the fists mean art is "liberated" from gallery spaces and that it's calling out said slumlords. It's sort of a con, it's temporary and it's art. Very Hakim Bey T.A.Z. type stuff, which we were totally into until I saw one of his grace quotes on a self-published how-to book teaching frat-fat American men how to successfully buy themselves wives and live in Thailand. Who to believe? What is real? I do not know. (Tara Murtha)